St. Thomas More Catholic School teacher Julie Kreuser began the new school year by asking students what time they woke up Tuesday morning.

It's not that she worried about the sleeping habits of fourth-graders. She wanted them to recite numbers in Spanish.

"I think it helps if I ask them questions that are personal to them," Kreuser said. "It helps them pay attention."

As schools throughout the Green Bay area welcomed students back for the first day of school Tuesday, St. Thomas More School launched a new intensive Spanish program under new principal Jeff Kaftan.

It's intended to attract the city's growing Hispanic population and other students interested in an intense language program.

An estimated 7.8 percent of Brown County residents were Hispanic in 2013 — or 19,736 people — according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. That's up from about 5 percent in 2003, according to the department's estimates.

Across the country, more than half of Hispanics identify themselves as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center.

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Fourth-grade students recite the school motto in Julie Kreuser's Spanish class at St. Thomas More School on Tuesday.(Photo: H. Marc Larson/Press-Gazette Media)

About one in four students attending Green Bay School District schools is Hispanic, and administrators expect that number to grow. Green Bay serves about 21,000 students. It launched a Spanish immersion program at Jackson Elementary School two years ago, in which students learn in both English and Spanish, so they are fluent in both languages by the time they leave school.

St. Thomas More School, located on Irwin Street near downtown Green Bay, already is diverse, with almost half of its students Hispanic or another minority. About three-quarters qualify for free or reduced lunches, Kaftan said. Many students attend the school using financial aid, and Kaftan said he hopes to share the message about similar opportunities for other families.

The school has hired a Spanish-speaking administrative assistant, and leaders visited Catholic churches, festivals and other events in an effort to recruit students.

Kaftan is pleased with early results. St. Thomas More had 76 students enrolled in April 2014, Kaftan said, and about 110 are enrolled for the 2014-15 school year. He hopes those numbers will continue to rise.

Kreuser, who taught Spanish at the school last year, is excited for the program.

"I get to have every kid in this building every single day," she said. "This will help them really get to know something. They will have the ability to speak fluently. It will give them so many opportunities in life."

Kaftan hopes that as the program continues to grow, St. Thomas More School will become a magnet school for students living in other parts of the city.

"This truly is a multicultural school," said Kaftan, who served as principal of Notre Dame Middle and elementary schools in De Pere before coming to St. Thomas More. "We will always be an English speaking school, but with a strong emphasis on Spanish."

The overall goal is to graduate eighth-graders who have achieved high school-level competency in Spanish. In high school, they would be able to take college-level Spanish classes, Kaftan said.

Recruitment efforts at Green Bay parishes such as St. Willebrord Church, in downtown Green Bay, were popular. Kaftan said 10 families with 20 children expressed interest in the school.

"It's definitely drawing attention to our school," he said. "Many Hispanic families are dedicated to the Catholic faith, but they need to feel welcomed to the school. They will be part of our family."

Administrative assistant Areli Estrada is bilingual and is helping families.

"A lot of families aren't fluent in English," she said. "Some said 'We don't have an email account.' So I am able to spend time helping them set up an account, and walking them through the registration process."

Word-of-mouth is bringing in new families, she said.

"Many have questions about financial aid," Estrada said. "There is a lot of excitement as we build that trust."

There may be another benefit, Kaftan said. A new family to the school is donating $20,000 or more to help cover the costs of replacing inadequate playground equipment, he said.

"I don't know if it would have happened without this program," the principal said.